Crescendo of Life

I love music.  To be honest, I usually can’t function unless there is something playing in the background.  Television noise does not work for me in the least, so don’t even suggest it.  Music on the other hand, is soothing, and will usually garner the results I’m looking for if I pair it up appropriately for the task in front of me.

When I’m cleaning, I better have something upbeat, and generally fast.  No mellow jazz for me.  If it isn’t the right tempo, I will slow down and eventually fall off the wagon, not completing anything I had to do.  The dishes still remain in the sink and mounds of laundry will encroach the dining room table as they sit on the floor of the laundry room.  Writing or working, mellow music does me well.  Some days, a little jazz, or perhaps some Natalie Merchant will keep me going and focused on what I need to accomplish, especially if I’m working with spreadsheets and inane data.  Now, if I’m upset, or in a grouchy mood, the loud, crashing, hard metal of Poison or Queen may make me feel a little better or at least justified in my sour attitude.

I have eclectic tastes.  My iPod is filled with music from Abba to Ziggy Marley.  Literally.  I have classical, country, rock, pop, and even a soundtrack or two.  Music from before I was born, to songs debuted today.

I wish I were musically inclined.  Really, I do.  I may have hated practicing the piano when I was younger, but at least I’m partially competent to play in Relief Society these days.  Who knew that my parents would be right when they told me someday I would appreciate all the practice time I put in?  I do.  That doesn’t mean I’m talented.  When I say talented, I’m talking about the truly gifted individuals that can pull a melody from inside their soul and have it expressed through the flying fingers along the ivory keys.  Or those musicians who add flourish to the printed notes, giving the song their definite style, almost like a fingerprint.  I knew a woman like that once…we always asked her to play “Called to Serve” because she did it with aplomb and finesse, not to mention a great deal of flourish.  I eked out the melody as written, and missed quite a few notes when I was ‘called’ to play.  I never measured up to her ability, although I did secretly wish I had just an ounce of her genius.

I’ve played a variety of instruments in my time, piano, flute, clarinet, and even a short foray with the tenor saxophone.  Oh, I sat first chair for a time while in high school when I played in the band, but that was short lived when I found I would rather spend my time writing rather than in rehearsals and marching practice.   I didn’t have the natural talent that some did.  I could technically do well, but the passion wasn’t there, much to my dismay.  I loved the concept of being a virtuoso, but couldn’t deliver the goods.  Music wasn’t my calling.

I am glad for the exposure I’ve had to music though.  I enjoy the technically pleasing aspects of a concerto, the movements weaving in and out of the senses.  My fingers will move in time with the beat, and I almost catch myself playing along.  I enjoy the joy of attending a concert at the theater as well as creating a playlist on my digital music player.  I love to wash myself in the ebb and flow of the vocal musings of Madeline Peyroux, feel the waves of percussion from Bon Jovi, and loosen my grasp on reality in the chords of Pachebal’s Cannon in D.  I hold dear some classics from my roots in Johnny Cash, George Strait, and a song that always makes me cry from Chris LeDoux. I’m as eclectic as my music, for there is something for every mood, every attitude, and every job.  I find that even as I write, I have to have something in the background, spurring me on.  Today?  I’m listening to a little Loreena McKinnett, Faith Hill, and some Abba.  Do you find it strange?  I’m sure it is to some, but for me, that is just the regular playlist for a day like today.
*Thanks to Google for the image*

What are you listening to today?